The Secrets We Keep
by Caley3324
Summary: Win and Bill aren't fighting with the family, but D.J. is training Brian still. She likes him, though, and she doesn't want anyone to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Win and Bill would kill me if they knew. Knew what, you might ask? That I was training Brian Nelson. They would both drive down from their colleges and personally murder me. Maybe they would team up or maybe it would be a competition for who got to our little farm first, but one thing was for sure: they would murder me.

Okay, maybe that's a _tiny_ bit dramatic. They wouldn't murder me. They would certainly not be happy though. They would call me on the phone to chew me out. On the Christmas holidays, they would glare at me. It would take a while to get over.

Especially if Hawley won the scrimmage.

It's not like I had gone to Brian Nelson's house and begged him to let me train him. I hadn't even suggested it; Jimmy Ott had. And it was a secret that only Jimmy, Brian, and I knew. And I would take it to the grave because if Win and Bill or my dad and Curtis or _anyone_ in the town of Red Bend found out, the grave is exactly where I'd end up.

Let me explain a little something about Red Bend and Hawley. We've been enemies since…the beginning of time. Hawley has more kids and more money than Red Bend, so naturally they have more people on their team and they've always been a little bit better. The last time that Red Bend had won against them was when Win was a senior and Bill was a junior. Bill's senior year hadn't worked out quite well enough, though, and Hawley had won. And Brian Nelson had even played in that game and he had been one of the ones laughing at Bill because he had cried when Red Bend lost. If Bill ever found out I was training him…

Well, let's just say that Win would be furious and there would never be a word in the English language to describe how angry Bill would be.

"D.J.?"

I looked over at Brian. "Huh? Sorry."

He gestured to the weight set behind him. "I'm done lifting."

"Start painting," I said, gesturing around to the walls. "We'll run when Curtis takes Dad to his physical therapy."

Brian obeyed immediately, something that never ceased to impress me. At first, he'd been a total jerk to me and he'd even walked out his first day of work. But then, he'd…changed. He was nicer and he made me laugh and he… I guess you could say that he actually respected me, strange as it may sound.

And I respected him, too. He was easy to talk to and he never made fun of me. He'd even apologized for participating in laughing at Bill that night and had admitted several times that I was a harder worker than him and that my brothers were great football players.

Dad came in before he and Curtis were supposed to leave so that he could take a look at what had been done. The barn was mostly painted now, though a few spots still needed it, and the floors were swept and it smelled pretty decent for a barn. He still found a way to throw in a couple of insults, though, and I was relieved when I heard the truck pulling away.

"Come on," I said, throwing a grin in Brian's direction.

We went out to the heifer field and did some tackling drills first. And then, after some running drills, we were so beat that I flopped down right there on the field and looked up at the clouds in the sky.

"Oof," Brian said as he fell down next to me. "I am ready to rule preseason."

"I'm ready for my legs to fall off," I said and we both laughed.

"I really want to thank you for all of this," he said seriously.

"What, the football field?" I joked. "Think I could be an NFL groundskeeper?" I grinned.

"I'm serious. For training me. And for talking. It's been real important."

"Don't worry about it," I said because I could think of nothing else to say. We laid there in silence then and after a while I started dozing off – it was just so peaceful. Birds were chirping and the air wasn't as hot as normal and something just put me at ease. Brian rustled around on the grass and then – and I _hate_ having to retell this part – he kissed me.

His lips were actually on mine and I was brought out of my serene thinking period instantly. I mean, if you're going to kiss someone whose eyes are closed – meaning they can't see you coming – you have to warn them. But Brian didn't warn me and it startled me so much that I sat up quickly and ended up hitting his nose with my face.

There was blood and I ran around finding a rag and ice. It was the most embarrassing thing ever and I absolutely hated it. Brian laughed about it, though, and said that it was okay and it didn't hurt that badly. I couldn't laugh about it, though. I was completely mortified. I mean, I'd been having feelings for Brian since two weeks into our training sessions and he had shown me that he had feelings for me, too. And how had I reacted? I'd almost broken his nose. He would never try to kiss me again.

"I'm so sorry," I said for the millionth time as we reached his truck. The bleeding had finally stopped, but he still held the bag of ice in his hand.

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't even hurt anymore. I think maybe you hit a nerve or something – I'm kidding," he added quickly when he saw my face. He laughed. "Lighten up, D.J. It's fine."

When he finally drove away, I watched him go. Win and Bill would _hate_ the fact that I was training Brian Nelson. But what would my brothers say if they knew that I had feelings for him?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Two more weeks and the scrimmage would be here. I had to say, I was honestly nervous – but for which team, I didn't know. Obviously, I cared about Red Bend since that was my school and everything. But, I also wondered how Hawley would do. I mean, I wanted to see how well my training had paid off. One thing was for sure though: Sitting in the stands on the Red Bend side by my parents and Curtis – and Win and Bill and _possibly_ Bill's roommate, Aaron – was going to be extremely nerve-racking. If Red Bend won, of course I would be pleased, but I would wonder if it was because my training hadn't been good enough. If Hawley won, I would be pleased that my training had obviously helped, but disappointed that my team had lost. So confusing.

And it didn't help that while I was in the kitchen eating breakfast, there was a phone call. Well, it was Sunday, which meant that I was the only one home, so I went to answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, D.J." Win's voice answered. "Family at church?" Mom was usually the one that took it upon herself to answer the phone.

"Yeah," I replied. "How's it going?"

"Training is almost over for us," he said. "I'll go work a camp for a week and then I'll be home for a couple of weeks before college and football practices start back up."

"Is Bill coming, too?" I asked.

"I think so. How's the farm work coming? I mean, with Dad's hip and everything. Is that loser Brian Nelson still helping out?"

I felt a pang in my stomach when he called Brian a loser. I wanted to jump to Brian's defense and tell Win that he really shouldn't rag on people until he got to know them really well, but I didn't. It would have made Win very suspicious.

"Yeah," I said. "He is."

Win laughed. "Bet that's fun. Does he cry every time he messes up a nail? Man, I would love to see him being outworked by a girl. And I'm sure Bill would, too. Will he be around when we come down?"

"I don't know," I replied, not bothering to tell Win that Brian had actually been working a lot harder and he did just as much work as me. "Not sure when they'll start football practice and everything."

"Have you been practicing basketball?" Win asked.

"Yeah," I lied. "I go to the gym like, everyday."

"Good," he said. "You need to make sure you keep your grades up, too. Colleges like that." Win had taken it upon himself to help me get a basketball scholarship, so I had to listen to advice like this at least twelve times a week.

"I know," I replied. "Hey, listen, I-" Just then, I heard the sound of tires. Brian was coming to work on a Sunday.

"-have to go," I finished. "I have a lot to get done today."

"Make time to go to the gym!" he warned and I almost laughed.

"Okay."

"Good," he said. "See you soon."

"See ya," I replied and hung up the phone. Our family wasn't really the type to say 'I love you' a lot. We knew, though; we didn't need to say it.

Brian was already lifting when I got out to the barn, so I got started sweeping the floors and scooping up cowpies. Curtis had done the milking since he and Mom and Dad were leaving right after church to go to the finals in New York. I had to stay behind, though, to do milking and everything else. I'd be all on my own for a few days.

The sounds of the lifting stopped and Brian asked, "Is Curtis excited?"

I shrugged. "You know Curtis. He'd never say."

"True," he said. "So what's next, Coach?" Brian had gotten into a habit of calling me Coach, mostly because he knew it annoyed me and partly because – well – I kind of _was_ his coach. Or trainer, really.

I rolled my eyes at his grin. "Go run. I have to clean the baler and sort out nails."

"All three miles?" he asked, standing up.

I nodded. He flashed me a grin and took off from the barn while I watched and sighed. Why was I attracted to him? Amber, after she had caught us water fighting, had asked if we had 'done it' yet. The idea had seemed so bizarre to me then. She had commented on his 'tight little butt and strong arms' and then had said that guys like him didn't go for girls like me. Which I knew.

But then why had he kissed me?

I sighed and got up to go clean the baler. It didn't really take me that long, but sorting the nails did. It was my least favorite thing to do and by the time I was done, I had at least seven cuts on each finger. Glad that it was over, I headed back to the barn to find Brian there, guzzling water from a bottle he'd brought.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

He grinned at me as he screwed the lid back on. "Gets easier every time."

"Good," I said. "Preseason should be easy."

He shrugged. "Do you mind if I bring my pads tomorrow to do some drills? I kind of want to get used to them."

I shook my head. "That's fine. Probably a good idea, actually."

He nodded and then there was a silence. Awkward silence. "Brian…"

"It's my fault," he said and looked down at his tennis shoes that had probably cost him more than my whole shoe wardrobe put together. "I shouldn't have…"

My heart dropped. I hadn't wanted him to say that. Not really.

And then he looked up at me, his solemn, bright eyes catching mine. "I'm not saying I didn't want to, D.J."

And that almost made me smile. "Oh."

"Your parents are gone for the week, right?"

"A few days," I corrected.

He grinned then, a smile that seemed to define his whole face. "Come to Minnesota with me."

"Minnesota?"

He shrugged. "Mall of America."

And even though I had chores to do – plus maybe going to the gym like Win had told me – I smiled and said, "Let me get changed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The drive didn't take all that long, considering we laughed together most of the time, telling stories about my brothers or his football experiences. He told me about his recent breakup with Kris and I told him that I'd never had a boyfriend – not a real one, anyway. I told him a lot of things, actually. I told him that I'd never really felt good enough next to my brothers and about Win's phone call that morning.

He reciprocated by telling me that he was pretty sure his parents were waiting for him to graduate so they could split up and about how he hated that his mom was gone so much. He told me that he hated his dad's attitude about certain things and that he considered me lucky to have a father that would point out my mistakes instead of considering me perfect all the time. It was refreshing to have an honest talk like that.

We went to the Mall of America and it was so large that my jaw dropped, literally. Brian laughed when he saw that and he said, "You've never been here?"

I shook my head. "It's _huge_."

He laughed. "Yeah, it is. Come on."

Well, I had brought money that I'd earned secretly (babysitting kids and the suchlike) and Brian went around the stores with me, giving me tips. It felt good for once to be able to shop for myself and get what I wanted. Being the smart person I am, I mostly shopped clearance racks and looked for the sales. Of course, Brian would often insist on paying, but I didn't ever really let him. That's not to say he didn't do it behind my back sometimes. By the end of the day, I filled up his backseat with shopping bags and boxes and I still had a little over two hundred dollars left.

All of those items…

22 new shirts

5 pairs of jeans and 6 pairs of shorts

New tennis shoes

3 new pairs of summer shoes

A new purse (that Brian had bought me from Coach, despite my orders not to)

5 new pairs of earrings (that Brian bought, once again)

4 new necklaces

6 new bracelets and a watch

4 dresses (just in case I ever needed any)

"How do you feel?" Brian asked me as we drove out of the mall parking lot at last.

"Good," I answered, smiling. "Kind of…worth something."

"You are worth something," he said, which made me blush.

He introduced me to some cool music on the way back and I found myself liking a few of the songs, which he played over and over until I had the lyrics down. I even knew a few of the songs – the Beatles and Elvis, mostly – because Bill and Win had listened to that kind of music.

After a while, Brian pulled into a truck stop and stopped his Cherokee. He came around to my side and asked me to get out, which I did confusedly. And then, he backed me up against his vehicle and began to kiss me.

Let me just say, that bloody nose business was the farthest thing from my mind then. Actually, I _wasn't_ thinking. _At all_. And it felt so good. One of his hands was tangled in my short hair and his other hand was on the Cherokee beside my head. My arms were around him, my hands feeling the smooth muscle of his back underneath his t-shirt.

I never wanted to stop kissing him. Ever. He made me feel like fireworks were going off inside of me and I think that anything could have happened and I wouldn't have noticed. His Cherokee could have blown up and we wouldn't have noticed. (But I knew it hadn't blown up because I could feel it right behind me.) It felt _so_ good to have Brian's body pressed against mine and to just be there with him.

It was great… and then his phone rang. We ignored it at first, but then it became extremely hard to ignore and he sighed as he pulled away from me to answer it. "Hello?" he asked.

He waited. "Yeah, Mom."

Another pause. "No, um, I'm gonna spend the night at Jake's tonight. Okay. Love you, too. Bye."

As soon as he hung up, he asked, "Is it cool if I crash at your house tonight?"

"What about Jake's?" I asked.

He smiled. "I'd much rather be with you. And Jake will cover for me; his parents are out of town."

"Oh."

Brian leaned in and kissed me again. "Want to head back?"

"Sure," I said, still breathless.

In the car, we listened to more cool music on the way back and I actually learned songs that could be classified as "cool". When we reached my house, the cows were making all sorts of racket and Brian helped me milk them, which was really nice of him. We talked some more and then I said that I should probably work on the tool shed a little bit so that it would look like I did _something_ when Dad came back, and Brian helped me, which made it go a lot quicker.

Finally, we could go inside and we both ate sandwiches and drank a beer each, because Dad would never notice. "I don't usually drink," he told me. "Just so you know."

"Me either," I commented, "I just kinda felt like it."

He laughed and then we watched a movie that I had called _The Man in the Moon_. It was a lame movie, but we mostly just made out anyway, so it didn't matter. Finally, around one a.m. Brian told me I should get some sleep.

"You should, too," I said.

"I'll sleep on the couch."

"Why?" I asked, confused. "You could have Curtis' room."

He shrugged. "I'm fine down here. Dream about me, okay?" And then he gave me a sweet kiss, not a hot and heavy one like they had been before.

I couldn't help but smile as I told him good night and headed up the stairs. And I don't think I would have been able to help dreaming about him even if I'd wanted to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Brian was already up the next morning when I came downstairs. Actually, he already had breakfast almost made, scrambling eggs and frying bacon. He must have seen the surprised look on my face, because he laughed and said, "My mom has lately been all worried that I won't be able to take care of myself in college. So she's been teaching me how to cook and do laundry and all that."

I pretended to listen for a second. "Hmm…I don't hear the washing machine going."

He laughed with me. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

I shrugged. "Training, I guess."

"Excellent," he said under his breath and I laughed.

We ate and talked and then went out to do the morning milking. "You know," he said as we were mucking. "I'm really glad I didn't take that lifeguarding job."

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

He smiled. "Yeah. I like this a lot better."

"You're _joking_."

He laughed. "Nope. I'm not. If I had been lifeguarding this summer, I wouldn't have gotten to know you. And that would be a real shame."

I blushed. "I'm not your type, you know."

He looked at me real seriously and we both stopped mucking for a moment. "What does that mean, D.J.?"

So I ended up telling him about my conversation with Amber and how she was really a lesbian. When I finished, Brian gave me a small smile. "That's rough."

"Yeah."

"She's wrong, though," he said. "I do go for girls like you. Girls who are honest and who don't hide behind multiple layers of makeup."

"What about Kris?" I asked.

He smiled, not mad at all that I'd brought her up. "We're broken up, aren't we?"

I smiled and we continued cleaning the barn floor. Finally, I told him to go run those three miles while I finished up the last of the painting. When I had my time alone to think, I wondered what Mom would have said about Brian spending the night. Obviously, she wouldn't have jumped for joy, but at least we hadn't shared a bed or done something really stupid, which she lectured about often enough. But what if Win and Bill had heard that we'd been making out?

I'd be dead. They hated Brian's guts. With a pang, I realized that I had too, not too long ago. And then I'd gotten to know him. So if they'd just give him a chance…

I sighed as I finished painting and went inside to make grilled cheese for lunch. Brian came in all sweaty form his run – shirtless, might I add – and before I even had the chance to ask how it went, his lips were crashing onto mine and his arms were around me. Not that I minded. At all.

We ended up moving from the kitchen to the living room and suddenly I was on the couch, with Brian supporting himself over me. I had that same feeling of fireworks exploding in my stomach and it was all I could do to manage to stay conscious, as dizzy as I was. Brian helped me with the breath situation, though, kissing my neck when he could tell that I was running low on air.

After a while, he stopped – which I regretted – and we just laid together on the couch, my head on his chest. I could hear the smile in his voice. "I think that should count as part of a workout."

I laughed. "Maybe. You know, I made grilled cheese, but they're probably cold by now."

"It was worth it," he said. "And there is this new invention called a microwave, you know."

I rolled my eyes and ran my hand along one of his well muscled arms. "I've never felt like this before." It was strange, admitting my feelings, but it felt so good to say it that I didn't even feel embarrassed. Maybe Brian brought out the best in me.

He kissed my hair. "I haven't either."

"That's a good thing, right?" I asked, sitting up so that I could look at him.

He grinned at me and put a hand behind my neck, pulling me in for another kiss. When he pulled away, he said, "Yes, it is."

"Can you stay another night?" I asked.

He sighed. "Not tonight." And he truly sounded sorry. "I can pull it off tomorrow night, though. You'll be alone then, too, won't you?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He kissed me again.

"We should get some work done," I said.

He sighed like he really didn't want to, but he let me get up and he followed me into the kitchen. We heated up our grilled cheese sandwiches and ate them on the way out to the barn, where I instructed Brian to get on the lawnmower and mow the grass while I cleaned the tractor and changed its oil.

After we got that done, I took a shower and when I came down, Brian asked if he could take a shower, too. I said yes and gave him some of Curtis' clothes to wear and then he had to go, although he did give me a rather passionate goodbye kiss.

As I watched him drive away, I realized how crazy in love I was with Brian Nelson, of all people. Just spending the summer with him had been enough. Maybe Win and Bill would learn to be okay with it…

And then the phone in the house rang, so I went to pick it up. It was Bill, asking me how everything was going and asking if I knew anything about the Red Bend football team because he really wanted them to beat Hawley.

Bill, I knew, would be the most likely to understand, since we were so close, but before I could even begin to tell him about Brian, he said, "Do they have any good linebackers? I really hope so. I just want to see that Nelson kid get pummeled."

And there went my plan, right out the window. I guess I'd just have to wait to talk to him about Brian.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Life just didn't get much better. At least, that's what I was thinking as Brian and I were kissing. He had me backed against the wall, one of his hands tangled in my hair, the other on my hip, and my hands rested on his strong chest. He smelled of some rich kid's cologne and he wore a soft cotton T-shirt and basketball-type shorts, along with his Nikes. I felt a little underdressed in my polka dot pajama pants and mismatched T-shirt, but Brian hadn't exactly given me a notice that he was coming over. I had literally pulled my hair into a ponytail and was about to step into my boots when the door opened, Brian walked in and…well, you can figure out the rest.

So there we were, kissing. When we pulled away for breath, I asked, "How did you know it was safe to do that?"

"I figured you would have stopped me if it wasn't," he said with a smirk and gave me a quick kiss. "Oh, and the van was gone, so I figured that your family was at church. Which is why I came."

"To make out with me?" I teased. I had gotten surprisingly good at flirting, thanks to Brian.

"To see if you needed any help with work or anything," he corrected and then broke into that wide grin that made my heart stop. "And, yeah, maybe a little make out time."

I laughed. "You're so predictable. Well, we need to go milk, then."

"Not yet." He tightened his grip on my hair, which had fallen out of its ponytail. "Just five more minutes."

"Mmm," I laughed and he pressed his lips to mine again.

It always amazed me how gentle Brian could be. I almost wondered if he had multiple sets of hands for different situations. Gentle ones for me and the rougher ones when he was helping me fix tractor equipment or baling hay.

And then the phone rang and Brian groaned as he pulled away. "Can you ignore that?"

I laughed and looked at the caller ID. "Not really, it's Bill. I'll get rid of him quick, okay?"

"I'll get started on the milking," Brian said and then kissed me once more before heading out the door. I watched him lope across the yard with more grace than he should have possessed. It just wasn't fair.

Still grinning stupidly, I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey DJ!" Bill called.

"Hey, Bill," I laughed.

"Aaron's here too," Bill said. "It's on speaker."

"Hey, DJ!" I heard Aaron call.

I laughed again. "Hey, Aaron."

"Aaron's coming down for the scrimmage, too," Bill said. "Have you had a chance to go see the team for yourself?"

"No," I answered as I looked out the window. I knew that I wouldn't be able to see Brian, but I couldn't help but hope. I also wondered if he would remember how to set up the milking machines and everything or if he would simply sweep the barn until I got there to show him again. But, if he did remember, then the milking wouldn't take all that long.

Bill and Aaron asked me a bunch of questions about plays Red Bend had run the previous year and I answered patiently, even though I really wanted to be with Brian because a) Bill happened to be my favorite brother b) I saw Brian more than I saw him and c) I didn't want Bill to be suspicious.

"Are you getting gym time?" Bill asked.

"Oh, God," I moaned.

Bill laughed. "Win called me yesterday to ask if I'd heard anything from you about practicing. Figured I'd give you a hard time."

"Thanks."

"I'll play some ball with you when I come down if you want, DJ," Aaron said.

"I'm in," I laughed. "But I'm not sure it'd be fair to you."

"Oh, he knows how to foul," Bill laughed. "He could take you out for the season."

"Win would murder him."

"Probably."

And then we all laughed at the image of a fight between Aaron and Win. As I was wondering who would win that, I saw Brian come out of the barn. Almost immediately, my heart started beating faster and a stupid grin came over my face.

"DJ?"

"Hmm?" I asked. "Sorry, I got distracted. Stupid fly."

"I asked if that Nelson kid has stuck around with the farm work."

Considering Brian had just milked all of the cows by himself, I said, "Yeah; he's doing pretty good."

Bill snorted. "You're too nice. Is he a total wimp?"

"No."

"No?" Bill asked, surprised.

"No," I answered. "He's gotten a lot better."

"Still weak, I'll bet," Bill said. "Can't wait to see Hawley lose."

"Mmm," I said because even though I attended Red Bend High School, I felt a small amount of loyalty to Hawley since my boyfriend was their quarterback and everything.

"You don't think so?"

Brian walked through the door and flashed me a big grin.

"Umm," I said. "I'm not sure. They should. I hope they do." Brian approached me, wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. I bit my lip.

"So, do you think that they'll try to run-"

"Stop," I whispered to Brian, and then realized my stupid mistake.

"Stop what?" Bill asked.

Brian stepped away, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

"Don't laugh," I whispered heatedly.

"Is someone there with you?" Bill asked.

I groaned. "Um, no. No one. Just me and Smut."

"She has a boy over there!" Aaron guffawed.

"No, I don't!" I proclaimed a little too defensively.

"Who is it?" Bill asked and I could feel his protective side taking over.

I knew that I couldn't tell him yet though. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"DJ…"

"Oh, come on!" Aaron said. "Let her have a little fun, man. We'll find out when we see her in a couple of weeks."

"I guess," Bill said. "DJ, please don't get pregnant, or…"

"Stop!" I said. "Bill, just stop. I have to go, okay?"

"Be careful!"

"Ugh!" I slammed the phone down. "Way to go!" I said to Brian. "They're going to expect a boyfriend!"

"And what am I?" he asked as he put his arms around me and kissed me.

"They're not going to like that it's you."

"Then let's just sneak around." He kissed me again. "Are you mad at me?"

I laughed. "No." And then I pulled him in for another kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Hey, DJ!" Bill seemed even larger than I remembered him, if that was even possible. But then, Aaron stepped out of the car and towered over Bill, making me remember that as far as college football players go, Bill was only average size.

"Hey, Bill. Aaron." I gave my brother a hug and then Aaron, who picked me up and spun me around as if I weighed no more than a lap dog. When he set me down and I finished laughing, Aaron asked, "Where are your folks?"

"Dad has physical therapy. And Curtis is at baseball practice."

"Already getting started on next year?"

I shrugged. "You know Curtis; intense." And then I turned my attention to Bill, who stood leaning against Aaron's car, arms crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face. "What?"

"What?" Bill asked, as if in disbelief. "You're joking. You know what!"

I shook my head, utterly confused. "What?"

He sighed and gestured wildly with his hands. "Your boyfriend! Who is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Aaron laughed. "Bill has ways of finding things out."

I shook my head. "Just forget it, okay?"

"Do Mom and Dad know?"

"No!"

"Hmm…" he said. "So how long has he been sneaking around with you?"

"A few weeks," I sighed, defeated. I figured that the more I lied, the harder he would come down on me.

"I want a name," he said. "I want a height, a weight, a GPA, an activities list, and I want to know what kind of car he drives." Bill ticked each thing off on his fingers and I couldn't help it; I laughed.

"That doesn't sound like a name," he said angrily.

I laughed harder and when I had finally caught my breath, I said, "I'm not going to tell you."

"Oh, we'll find out," Bill said. "And the only reason I'm not tackling you to the ground right now and demanding that you tell me is that I'm just in a good mood because I just talked to the football coach, and he says that the only adequate quarterback that Hawley has is Brian Nelson."

My heart skipped a beat at his name. "Why would that put you in a good mood?"

"Because," he explained. "He says that Brian Nelson has a really pretty arm, but his aim sucks."

That wasn't true anymore, but I couldn't tell Bill that. "And?"

"And that means that Red Bend has the game in the bag!"

Red Bend actually didn't have the game in the bag, but I wasn't about to tell Bill that. He'd want to know how I knew that and I wasn't about to tell him that I had trained Brian Nelson all summer. That would almost be as bad as telling him that I was dating Brian Nelson. And, yes, Brian and I were officially dating. He had "officially" asked me and everything. But Bill and Aaron didn't need to know that. "That's good."

And then Win pulled up in his small Toyota truck and I smiled and waved, glad that he was here as a change of subject. He would ask about gym time and I could probably get him talking about colleges without too much trouble, and…

But Bill knew where I was headed. "Don't even think about it."

"Think about what?" I asked, even though I knew that I was busted.

"Changing the subject," Bill said. "I'm planning to let Win know, too."

"No!"

Aaron laughed. "Well, since you won't tell us this guy's name, we need as much help as possible to figure it out. We can take turns following you around town, and…"

"Oh, God," I muttered. This was going to be worse than I had originally thought.

"Don't worry, though," Bill said. "We're not going to tell Mom and Dad. I know what it's like to have secrets."

"Then why won't you respect mine?" I shot back.

He grinned at me. "That wouldn't be very brotherly of me."

I rolled my eyes and walked up to Win, who was just getting out of his truck. "Hey, bro."

Win gave me a hug and went to shake hands with Aaron and Bill. Bill wasted no time. "DJ has a secret boyfriend."

Win whirled around to face me, his eyes wide, his voice demanding. "Who?"

"She won't tell us," Aaron supplied.

"Hence the secret," Bill said. "But we're planning on figuring it out. You in?"

"Duh," Win said, continuing to look at me as if he could scare the secret out of me. But that wasn't going to happen. I was adamant that they weren't going to find anything out until I wanted them to. I was going to be on top of my game the whole time.

And then, horror of horrors, Brian pulled up. I saw the way that Bill and Win stiffened, and Bill quickly explained the situation to Aaron, who gave Brian the evil eye right along with Win and Bill.

But Brian ignored them as he waved and walked up to me.

"I didn't think you were working today," I said.

"I'm not," he replied and held out a small box to me. "Those are the screws that you asked me to pick up for you."

"Oh, good," I said. "Thanks."

"Do you need help with anything while I'm here?"

"I'm good," I said, feeling my brother's eyes staring.

He smiled and took a step back. "I won't be working for the next couple of weeks up until the scrimmage."

I nodded. "I expected that; it's okay."

He raised a hand. "See you in a couple of weeks."

Awkward. "See ya."

He nodded at my brothers and Aaron and then got back in his car. As he drove away, Bill said, "I can't wait to see him get crushed."

And I turned and walked away, not wanting to listen to anymore of their badmouthing my secret boyfriend.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Dinner was strange, to say the least. Win and Bill and Aaron kept giving me looks, as if the name would magically appear on my forehead or something. But Mom and Dad didn't notice anything, so for that I was grateful. They asked lots of questions about football and college classes and it was a big, happy family dinner. Even Curtis spoke up some, which surprised everyone. Bill took the opportunity to get him talking about baseball, though, asking him about his team and a description of his best plays of the season.

I volunteered to do the dishes and – even more shocking – Curtis offered to help. So, everyone else moved into the living room and Curtis and I got started on the dishes, with me washing and him drying.

"So," he said after a moment. "Why were Win and Bill and Aaron giving you those looks?"

So I hadn't imagined them. "I don't know."

"I don't believe that."

I smiled. "They're trying to invade my personal life."

"You mean about your boyfriend?"

I dropped the bowl that I was washing back into the sink, splashing a bit of soapy water on the front of my T-shirt. I looked over at Curtis, who finished drying a cup and set it down to dry. He looked back at me and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"How do you know about that?" I hissed.

He turned a little bit red. "Well, um, don't get mad, okay?"

I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter. "Spill."

"You look like Mom when you do that."

"Great," I muttered. "Spill."

He sighed and looked down at his shoes. "I had to go into your room to get my boots." I had borrowed them a week earlier because mine had a hole and I hadn't had time to get new ones that day. I had gotten new ones since then, but I had forgotten to return his.

"Okay," I said. "And?"

He didn't look at me. "Well, while I was in there, I saw a jacket."

"And?"

But he didn't even have to say it; I realized it. "Well, the jacket was a guy's jacket. So I figured that you had a boyfriend and jus didn't want anyone to know."

"And you didn't say anything."

"Why would I do that?" he asked, finally looking at me. "I don't want you in trouble."

I smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Thanks, bro."

He nodded. "You're welcome."

I grabbed the bowl out of the water and washed it. As I handed it to him, he asked, "So…who is it?"

"Nice try."

After I had finally gone up to my bedroom for the night, I called Brian. He answered on the third ring. "Hey."

"Hi," I smiled and sat down on my bed. "How are you?"

He laughed. "Good. You?"

"Great. Sorry about today; my brothers being there and all."

"It's fine. They didn't suspect me, did they?"

I shook my head. "No, they didn't. They hate you, though."

He laughed. "Oh, yeah? That's unfortunate."

"I guess. I think they'd like you if they got to know you."

"Yeah, I'll win them over with my charm."

I laughed. "So what are you doing?"

"Just laying here watching TV. Flipping through the channels, actually. And wishing that we could hang out. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure," I answered. "But I don't know how easy it would be to get away when my brothers are around. Especially with them wanting to know who you are so badly."

"How long will they be in?"

"They're staying through the scrimmage."

He whistled. "I can't wait that long to see you."

"Me either," I admitted. "What do you wanna do?"

"Could you make some excuse to come into town?"

"Well," I mused. "I can't say that I'm going to practice basketball because Win would definitely want to come and he would probably talk Aaron and Bill into coming, too. I could say that I'm hanging out with Amber, I guess…but I don't know if she'd lie for me since that fight that we had."

"Do you have any other friends that would lie for you?"

"I don't have many friends," I admitted reluctantly. "I kind of keep to myself. Amber's been my best friend for a long time."

"I'm sure we can figure something out," he told me. "And if all else fails, I can sneak over there at night."

"That's dangerous," I warned. "Remember me telling you about Dad catching Bill with that girl in the barn?"

"Well, then, we'll just have to make sure we don't get caught." I could hear the cocky grin in his voice.

I laughed. "Yeah; I'd prefer that."

"So, why don't you try to figure something out and call me when you know something?"

"I'll do that," I agreed. "And hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," he said softly, in a voice that raised goosebumps on my arms. "I'll see you soon. Get some sleep tonight, okay?"

"Okay; good night."

"Night, DJ."

I hung up the phone and put it on my bedside table, planning to go and take a shower. At the last minute, though, I grabbed the phone and took it with me, not sure what Bill and Win and Aaron were planning. I decided that it would be best to keep my phone on me at all times so that they couldn't get to it.

After my shower, I went back to my room and laid down in my bed. I tried to think of a plan to get away from the house, but nothing was really coming to mind. I could tell Mom that I needed to find Amber so that we could solve our argument, but that was the best I had. But if I didn't actually go and solve things with Amber, how would I get away the next time if Amber didn't lie for me? Or would Mom and Dad even check with Amber? Would Win and Bill and Aaron?

Deciding that I would worry about that when it came, I fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"Where are you off to?"

I looked over at Bill and rolled my eyes. "I'm going to see Amber."

"Does she know who your boyfriend is?" Win asked.

Aaron handed three cards to Bill, who was apparently dealing. "I'll take three."

"No," I answered.

"Two," Win said and then looked at me. "So, does anyone know?"

"Not besides me and him," I said and headed for the door. "See you guys later."

As I walked to the truck, part of me thought that had been too easy, so I knew that I was going to be paranoid that they were following me or something. I even considered checking the truck for a GPS device or a hidden camera or something. It would be the type of thing that they would do.

When I made it into town, I headed through and watched my rearview mirror a lot, just in case they were following me. When I was sure that they weren't, I made my way over to Hawley and to Brian's house. He had called me that morning and said that his parents were going on a little vacation for a week and that he had the house completely to himself. It honestly sounded like the perfect opportunity.

So, after I had parked my truck in the huge garage so that passerby wouldn't see it, Brian pulled me into his arms and gave me a long, lingering kiss. Then, he pulled away and smiled, leaving both of us breathless. Then, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house with him. "So," he said. "You escaped."

I laughed. "You make it sound like my house is Alcatraz."

He pulled me down on the couch with him. "So, I was thinking that we could watch a movie."

"Sure."

He got up and meandered over to the huge entertainment system that his family owned. I wondered what it would be like to live life like he did. Having fancy cars and all of the newest electronics. He looked at the shelf of DVDs. "Hmm…any preferences?"

I shook my head and blushed as I asked, "Are we even going to be watching the movie anyway?"

He grinned at me, making me blush even more. "That's an excellent point. So, I can put in the most boring movie on this shelf. Which would be…" He picked out a DVD and put it in the player. Then, he came and took a seat by me.

The movie started and I asked him, "How was practice today?"

He kissed my hair. "Long and tiring. But I'm the only one that's actually in shape, so it feels good. Jimmy Ott said to tell you thanks for him."

"He's very welcome," I responded with a laugh.

There was a man on the screen that was talking to a businessman, but that's all of the movie that I really got to see. After that, Brian and I were too busy making out to pay attention. But, when the movie ended, I managed to sit up and say, "I really need to go before they get suspicious."

He sighed. "Fine. But meet me tomorrow."

"Here?"

"You know it."

I laughed and stood up. "Okay; deal."

He walked me out to my truck and we kissed some more before I finally got in and left, watching Brian in my rearview mirror until I couldn't see him anymore. It felt so weird to be so crazy in love. But it felt good; so very good.

I drove through town and considered stopping by to see Amber, but I didn't really know if I should. I mean, I had no idea what I would say to her and how she would react to me. After all, I'd never been the best with words. I'd probably say something entirely wrong and mess it up even more.

So, I didn't stop, even though I probably should have. Instead, I drove by the store where she worked and tried to push it out of my mind, even though that was kind of impossible.

When I reached my house, I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and went out to do chores so that I could avoid my brothers for longer. But, there was no point in delaying the inevitable, so I went inside and found them playing some type of poker that I'd never seen before.

Aaron was the first to look up at me and he looked like he was about to say something, but then his eyes got wide and his mouth clamped shut.

Confused, I asked, "What?"

So, Win and Bill looked up too and both of them looked instantly angry.

"What the hell?" Bill thundered, him and Win jumping to their feet.

"Did I offend you by walking through the door?" I asked, confused. I had no idea why they were acting so weird. I was almost afraid that they knew about Brian, but then I realized there's no way that they could have.

"What is _that_?" Win shouted, pointing at me.

"What?" I asked.

Bill walked over to me and pressed on my neck. "That!"

"My neck?"

Bill uttered a sigh of frustration and pulled me over to the small mirror that we had hanging in the living room. And then I saw it. And my mouth dropped wide open. I had known that he had kissed my neck, but that…

"A hickey?" Win shouted. "Who is this guy? I demand to know now!"

So, as it turns out, I should have left my hair down because it would have hidden the hickey. Great; just my luck.

"DJ!" Win said to get my attention. "Seriously, you need to tell us now."

And with as much courage as I could muster, I said, "It's none of your business; it's just a hickey. You've both had one, too." And then I walked upstairs.

And I knew that they would be on their guard more than normal, now.

"Hello?"

"Brian," I whispered into the phone. "We have a problem."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Can I go to bed now?" I whined.

"No," Bill replied and reached for the deck of cards. "But you can fold, if you don't like your hand." All day, Win, Bill and Aaron had been keeping an extremely close eye on me. And, to make matters worse, the hickey hadn't completely gone away, even though I had iced it. Now, it was just a small bruise that I could hide if I wore a T-shirt, which I did. But my brothers and Aaron still knew that it was there and they were determined that it wouldn't happen again.

"This is pointless," I sighed. "I just want to go to bed."

"Are you folding or calling?"

I groaned and threw in two white chips to call Win's bet. We weren't playing with real money; we were just playing with poker chips. "Call. But seriously, I need to go to bed after this hand. I'm planning on hitting the gym tomorrow."

"That's a great idea," Win replied. "I'll come, too."

"Me too," Bill said and Aaron nodded his agreement before saying, "I fold. Can't hit my straight."

"Just us three," Bill said. "Should be fun." He flipped over another card and I saw the subtle wince. But, he bluffed. "Ten."

Win shook his head and threw down his cards. "I fold."

"I'll call," I said and threw in a blue chip.

Bill nodded tersely and tossed out another card. "So, who taught you to play poker?"

"Technically," I said, "I can't play poker – I only know one game – Texas Hold 'Em. And it's your bet."

He decided to stall so that he could figure out whether or not to bluff. "So, how's school going?"

"Great. Your bet."

"It can't be that great," he said. "It's school."

"It's also your bet."

"Okay, that was the worst comeback in the history of-"

"I would _love_ to have a battle of wits with you, Bill," I said. "But I don't fight unarmed people."

Aaron and Win laughed and Bill mumbled, "Fold."

"Good," I said and tossed my cards down onto the table. "Good night everyone. I plan to leave for the gym at nine tomorrow morning."

"Night," Win called.

"Good night," Bill said as he stood. "I think I'll hit the sack too."

Aaron mumbled an agreement and I knew that Win wouldn't be all that far behind. We had played until midnight.

In my room, I changed into pajamas and laid down in bed, feeling myself relax. I had been tense all day, scared that I would somehow let out the secret. I know that it sounds wrong, but I actually couldn't wait for them to leave because then, they would have a harder time finding out. But, really, I didn't want them to leave. I liked having them around.

Gosh, I really couldn't sleep. But, I could hear Aaron snoring downstairs and I knew that Bill was probably already snoring, too, in his room. Win as well. I seemed to be the only sleepless one in the house.

_Tap_.

And, I was hearing things.

_Tap._

Nope, that was a real sound. I sat up in bed, looking around for the source.

_Tap._

I got up and walked over to the window, trying not to hope. But there he was, on the other side of the window, hanging onto the house and smiling like an idiot. Quickly, I unlocked the window and pulled it up, moving aside so that he could come in. "How did you get up here?" I asked.

"Your house is old and surprisingly easy to scale," he said. "It's like whoever built it meant for someone to sneak into your room."

I smiled and let him kiss me. When he pulled away, I shivered and he smiled as he pulled me over to the bed. "It is a chilly night, isn't it?"

We crawled under the covers and I rested my head on his chest, listening to the heartbeat. "So, what brings you over here tonight?"

He kissed my hair. "Well, you told me that your brothers were suspicious and you didn't know how you were going to get away now. So, I thought I'd help you out."

"Good for you," I said. "But it would have been a whole lot easier if you had just not given me a hickey."

He moved some hair away and smiled. "I didn't even know I did, honestly."

"Yeah, well, me either."

He chuckled softly. "Are you angry?"

I sighed, unable to stop the smile. "No. I don't think that's possible."

He kissed me. "So, I thought maybe I could just sneak over here every night. Mom and Dad said that they're going to stay next week, too. I think they're trying to work things out instead of split right after I leave."

"That's great."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah; I wish they could be here for the scrimmage, though."

"I'll be there."

He chuckled. "But sitting on the wrong side and cheering for the wrong team."

"True," I sighed and pulled him down to kiss me. Finally, we just relaxed and he held me there in his arms. We talked about anything and everything – practice, the cows, the weather – and then we began to make out. It was kind of inevitable with us, I suppose. But I had absolutely no problem with that. Kissing Brian was my new favorite activity.

His hands slowly slipped under my shirt and I shivered, not only at the sudden cold of his hands but at the surprise. He froze and pulled away from me. "Sorry; too fast?"

I shook my head. "You just surprised me."

"Sorry," he smiled. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "It's okay."

He began to kiss me again and I tried not to think about what Win and Bill would do if they burst through the door and found Brian in my room with his hands under my shirt. Someone would get murdered. Maybe two people.

But I didn't care because I liked it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"And then Bill screamed like a little girl-"

"Did not!" Bill refuted, throwing popcorn at his roommate.

I laughed along with them and then Win turned to me and said, "So, planning to go see your boyfriend anytime soon? Bill and Aaron and I would _love_ to tag along."

I rolled my eyes. "So not happening." But I was lying. The plan was to sneak out in the middle of the night and go over to Brian's house while his parents were still away. If I got caught, I could just say that I was going to Amber's. It's not like I had a curfew or anything.

"Worth a try, right?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I stood up. "Well, boys, it's time for me to go to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Me too," Aaron admitted. "Win, you win World's Toughest Coach."

I laughed and headed for the stairs. "Night."

"Night!" they called back.

Knowing that I had time to kill, I took a shower and sang while I washed my hair. Being with Brian seemed to make me a different person. One that apparently sang in the shower.

"He just takes his tractor another round. Pulls the plow across the ground. Sends up another prayer. Lord, I never complain, I never ask why; please don't let my dreams run dry. Underneath this Amarillo sky."

Brian liked to listen to pop and rock, but country was more my thing and that's the kind of music that I tended to lean towards. Although, I did kind of like Maroon5.

After my shower, I put my hair in a towel and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, along with tennis shoes. Then, I read my book for English for a while until all of the lights were off downstairs.

Then, as slowly as possible, I crept down the hallway and slowly down the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky steps (which was harder than it sounds because that's pretty much every single one). In the living room, I was confused to hear Bill snoring on the couch, with Aaron on the other couch, snoring too.

_They fell asleep down here?_

Shrugging, I continued on my way, being extra careful not to make any sounds that would wake Aaron or Bill. But I doubted that any noise form me could have made Bill wake up. His snores were going to bring the house down any minute, it sounded like.

I was just coming up on the door when I froze.

There was a shape on the floor in front of the door.

Smut?

No.

When I crept closer, I saw that it was Win.

_No way!_ They were so suspicious of me that they were sleeping in the living room to make sure that I wasn't sneaking out to go see Brian! Did they not see how childish that was? Why couldn't they just accept the fact that I had a boyfriend and it just really wasn't any of their business who it was?

Angry, I whirled around and left the living room. I was going to sneak out. The front door wasn't the only way out of the house, it was just the most convienent way.

Once I was back upstairs, I went into my room and closed the door. Then, I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and headed over for the window. Brian had climbed through it and went back out through it, so why couldn't I?

I raised it as quietly as possible and then looked outside. Brian had said that the house was easy to scale, but the only way that I saw was to kind of edge over and get my foot on the gap in the siding. Then, it would be an easy jump.

I took a deep breath. "Here goes."

Then, I let my feet go out the window first until I was out. Carefully, I shut my window up until there was just a crack left, so that I would be able to raise it up to get in if I needed to. Slowly, I began to edge my way over and I was almost there when I felt my hand slipping.

_No!_

Too late, I realized that I could have grabbed the roof for a steadier hold.

But too late, I was already falling.

I landed on my feet, which I thought was a good thing at first, but then I saw the black dots.

They were everywhere.

When I tried to take a step, my knees cried out in pain and I had to grit my teeth to keep from doing the same. I must have twisted them when I landed.

"Stupid," I muttered to myself. "Stupid, stupid."

I began to curse everything. My house, for being so hard to sneak out of. The ground, for being too hard. My knees, for being too weak. My brothers, for being so unbearable overprotective that they felt the need to guard the exit so that I couldn't sneak out.

The pain rippled through me again and I considered going to knock on the door to tell them all what I had done.

But I couldn't. There was no way that my pride was going to let me do that.

So, I just grit my teeth against the pain and began to walk towards my truck. Each step was pretty near agony, but I held on because I was tough. I could do it.

"How am I going to hide this?" I whispered to myself as I took the keys out of my pocket to unlock the truck.

I got inside, started it up, and turned the headlights off to reverse. Even pushing the pedals hurt my knees.

As I drove, I pictured my brother's faces when they found out what I had done.

"They're going to attach me to a freaking leash," I muttered to myself as I drove. "Brain, you better come up with a damn good cover story for this incident."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Brian was waiting for me as I pulled into one of the spaces in his garage. As soon as I opened the door, he was there to help me down and kiss me, but I broke the kiss when I screamed as my feet touched the ground.

He jumped away from me. "DJ! What's wrong?"

There were tears in my eyes but I blinked them back (though not without some serious effort). "I snuck out of my house."

"And?" he asked.

"Win was by the front door," I gasped and clutched onto him so that I wouldn't have to bear all of my weight.

In one fluid motion, he had me in his arms and was carrying me towards the house. "What do you mean he was by the door?"

"He was sleeping in front of the door. And Aaron and Bill were on the couches. I still wanted to come tonight, so I snuck out through my window."

"Oh, crap," he said, suddenly understanding. "You jumped out your window? What were you thinking, DJ?"

"I didn't jump!" I said in my defense as he sat me down on the couch. "I tried to scale myself down and I… slipped."

He sighed as he sat down near my legs. "Where's it hurt? Ankle?"

"Knees," I gasped out through the pain. "They hurt pretty bad, Brian."

"Both of them?"

I nodded and a tear escaped my eye. I quickly wiped it away.

He reached down to the hem. "I'm going to roll your jeans up, okay?"

"Okay," I breathed out.

Slowly and extremely carefully, he began to roll my jeans up to past my knees, first one leg and then the other. It hurt when he reached the knee area, but we got through it until he finally had them rolled up to where he could see my knees.

He gave a low whistle. "They're swollen and bruised, DJ."

"Oh," I said sarcastically because I was angry and in pain and… therefore I was feeling a little snippy. "I thought maybe it was just a scratch."

He allowed a small smile to flicker across his face before he stood up. "I'm gonna go get you some ice." Before he left, he turned on the TV to some old comedy.

He returned with two bags of ice wrapped in towels and some athletic tape. After he managed to attach the ice to my knees, he asked, "Better?"

"A lot," I said as I breathed out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea. Thank you."

"I think you might have twisted them," he said, though he didn't look sure. "Or you could have just jarred them when you landed. I don't know. I'd recommend having a doctor look at them."

"I have something better than a doctor," I told him, still sarcastic. "I have you."

He grinned. "Well, I have been to school for more than eight years, it just hasn't been med school. You need to try to stay off of them, though. And get to a doctor."

I shook my head. "I can't do that."

"Why?" he asked as if I'd just told him that I wanted to skydive from a plane without a parachute.

"Because!" I explained. "If I go to the doctor, my parents and my brothers will find out. And then I'll have to explain how I got hurt."

"Oh," he said, seeing my problem. And then, he went into deep thought for a few moments. Then, his face lit up. "I've got it."

"Got what?"

"Your cover story," he said, grinning.

"Care to share?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "Go out to the barn early in the morning and say that you were on the edge of the hayloft and you were off balance so you just jumped off and… there you go. Injured knees."

I pulled him forward abruptly and kissed him. When I pulled away, I was grinning. "Brilliant!"

He smiled. "If I had good ideas like that more often, would you kiss me like that more often?"

I felt myself blush, but I was suddenly feeling very flirtatious. "Maybe. What if I hurt my arm?"

He thought for a moment. "Hmm…depends on the injury."

"Wrist."

"You spilled some milk from the bucket and slipped on it, so you reached out to catch yourself."

I smiled. "That one's pretty good, too. But Dad would be pretty mad that I spilled the milk."

He looked confused. "Um, don't you owe me something?"

"Do I?" I asked, faking stupid. "I don't seem to recall…"

"Um, good idea, passionate kiss… ringing any bells?"

I laughed before I pulled him in for another kiss, this one even deeper than the last. He held the back of my head close to him and I could taste his toothpaste. The smell of his cologne was as intoxicating as ever.

When we finally broke apart, I was gasping for breath. "Brian…"

He let out another breath and then stood up. "I'll get you some ibuprofen for the pain. Be right back." He winked at me and then he disappeared.

I turned my attention to the TV as I struggled to catch my breath. The characters on screen were arguing about some new mean teacher that they had at school and how they were going to get back at her for some ridiculous assignment or something. But the words just went in one ear and out the other.

And that's when I figured out that I was falling in love with Brian Nelson. Really and truly. I'm not the smartest girl in the world – far from it – but I knew that I was smart enough to know this. The feelings that I had for him were real – more real than anything else in my life. He liked me for the person that I was and I liked him for who he was. We were friends. We were friends in love.

When Brian came back in with the ibuprofen, I pulled him into a kiss so suddenly that he dropped the ibuprofen on the floor.

Where it stayed.


	12. Chapter 12

_**There aren't words to explain how sorry I am that it's been so long since I've posted. As a sort of apology, I'm posting the next three chapters all at once. SORRY!**_

**Chapter Twelve**

The good news was that Dad and Mom and even Curtis seemed to buy my story about having injured my knees in the barn. Also, they didn't hurt nearly as badly as they had before, so the injury just left me with a slight limp. Brian had said that he thought that I had only jarred them pretty badly and they'd be back to normal within the next few days.

The bad news was that three people definitely were _not_ buying the "injured in the barn" story. Win. Bill. And Aaron.

"That's what happened," I said defensively as I put the biscuits into the oven.

"Come _on,_ DJ," Bill said with a roll of his eyes. "You don't think I've used an injured in the barn story too? Once you've used one, you can spot others."

"Technically," I said as I began working on the hashbrowns, "you didn't _spot_ anything. You heard me saying-"

"The point is," Win interjected. "How did you _really_ hurt your knees?"

"You know the story." I refused to budge. The story that Brian had come up with was a good one, and I was going to go with it. Stick with it until the very end. Maybe. Unless some kind of torture came into play… I'd seen enough movies to know that some people resort to some very painful ways of extracting information and if I were to be subjected to such torture… there's no telling what I would spill.

"The fake story, yes," Bill agreed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter near me, but far enough away that I suppose he thought he wouldn't be called out to help with something. "But now we want the _real_ story."

"I can't do anything about you not wanting to believe me," I said with a shrug, as if I could care less.

"Let's guess," Aaron suggested from his place at the table, where he was unsuccessfully trying to build a house of cards. Big hands with those little cards… not so helpful for him. "Hmm… did you…"

"Wait." Win held up a hand and then gave me a stern look. "Obviously this injury occurred within the course of you sneaking out last night."

"I didn't sneak out." The hashbrowns sizzled.

"Right," Bill said with as much sarcasm as he could possibly muster. "The injury _obviously_ occurred as you were rolling out of bed this morning."

"Or, it could have happened _in the barn_ like I said it did."

"Nope." Bill popped the 'p'. "Sorry, DJ, I just know better than that. So how did you sneak out, since we were keeping guard?"

"Did you use the front door?" Win asked. "Because I was sleeping in front of it, so I don't see how…"

I groaned. "When are you guys just going to drop all of this and just leave me alone?"

"When are you going to tell us who this secret boyfriend is?" Win demanded.

"Fair enough. Want to get the milk out for me so I can start on the gravy?"

Win did as I'd asked while Bill said, "So, how _did_ you sneak out? Back door? Because the back door creaks _very_ loudly. We would have heard it. That's why I didn't sleep in front of it. But I suppose you could have made it out your window…"

Win let the refrigerator door slam shut. "That's it, isn't it? You jumped out your window and _that_'s how you hurt your knees, because of the bad landing!"

I snatched the milk away from him. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not that stupid."

"But it's the only way," Bill said, in the tone of someone that had just been enlightened on a very interesting and life changing topic. "It has to be."

"I'm kinda with DJ…" Aaron said and cursed as the cards fell, yet again.

"Thank you!" I said, waving my hand in his direction. "See, Aaron doesn't think that I-"

"Hold on!" Aaron said. "I wasn't quite finished yet. I agree with you about you not being stupid enough to just jump out your window. But I agree with Bill and Win about you sneaking out."

Great.

"So, how do you think she did it, then?" Bill asked, as if I wasn't standing in the same room.

"I think she tried to scale it," Aaron replied with a smug smile in my direction. He knew he'd figured it out. "But she slipped, and that's how it happened."

They were all looking at me, then, and Win said, "Well?"

"Well what?" I retorted and busied myself with making the gravy. Surely my face wasn't giving anything away, but I didn't want to take any chances.

"Well, is that how it happened?" Bill clarified, though we all knew that no clarification was really needed. "Did you try to scale the wall?"

"That'd be a dumb thing to do," I muttered.

"Well, of course you think it's dumb _now,_" Aaron said. "But only because you were injured doing it."

"Think what you want."

"That is _so_ what people who know the other people are right say," Bill said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "That didn't even make sense."

He pointed at me. "That's something _else_ that they say."

Again, I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Bill, will you hand me the pepper?"

He crossed his arms once again and leaned against the counter. "Not until you admit that we're right."

"How can you all be right?" I asked. "You all said different things. And it doesn't matter; I'll just get it myself."

"We should post a guard in the hall outside her room," Win mused. "So that we'll be able to hear if she-"

"Oh, she won't go through the window again," Bill said knowingly. "Not after she hurt herself like that. I think we can cease guard for a while."

I almost smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Night, DJ."

"Night, Aaron."

Win clapped me on the shoulder. "Get a lot of rest. You already took your ibuprofen, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Coach."

Bill grinned at me as he enfolded me in his massive arms. "Need a couple of knee braces for your jump tonight?"

"I'll pass," I said.

He laughed. "Night, then."

But I was the one that wanted to laugh. They all thought that there was no way I would try sneaking out my window again, and they were _absolutely_ right. I wasn't going to. But they hadn't – not even for one second – considered the possibility of someone else sneaking _in_. Someone athletic enough to pull it off successfully.

I took a long shower and then took some time doing some girly stuff, like applying a face mask and tweezing my eyebrows and the suchlike while I waited for the appropriate amount of time for Win and Bill and Aaron to fall asleep. It wouldn't take too long, considering they'd all stuffed themselves at dinner and had yawned all through the movie that we'd watched as a family.

After a while, I headed back to my room, closed the door soundly, and walked over to the window. Once I was there, I unlatched it and lifted it as high as it could go.

A minute later, Brian eased himself into the room and turned to shut the window behind him. I settled onto the bed to watch him. Watch the way that his white T-shirt moved over his muscles and the way that his jeans rode kind of low on his hips, showing a strip of his golden skin.

He turned and grinned when he saw me looking at him. "Hey there."

"Hey." I leaned back against the headboard. "Hard climb?"

"Not so bad."

"Good."

He settled himself into the bed beside me and ran his hand over the hem of my black T-shirt. "Glad you dressed up for me."

I looked down at my basketball shorts and just rolled my eyes. "Sorry. I had no idea that this was a formal occasion."

"Every time you get to be with me doesn't seem like a formal occasion to you?" He feigned offense.

"Nope. Sorry." I shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'. "Maybe if you'd make it more worth my while, my attitude would change. Until then, though, there's not a whole lot I can do. Sorry."

"Ouch." He sighed. "I'll have to call Coach in the morning. Tell him that I'm too injured to play. You just broke my heart. Into a thousand tiny pieces, most likely. There's not enough superglue in the world to fix it. I hope you're happy."

I giggled softly and pulled myself up slightly to bring my lips to his. "How was your day?"

"Boring." He shrugged. "Football practice, then lunch with the guys, then more practice. I was beat when I got home. Showered, took a nap, ate dinner, and then came over here."

I chewed on my lip for a moment, thinking. "What if you wear yourself out with this? The late nights with me, I mean?"

He grinned and pulled me in. "I think that would be just fine with me."

When we pulled away, I tried to fight the smile to be serious, but I couldn't. "I mean, how would you explain your exhaustion to Jimmy?"

"Were you not listening?" He drew abstract shapes on my arm with his index finger. "I took a nap today. A long one. Besides, I won't need to give him a reason for my exhaustion. He's been at the practices. He knows what they're like. He won't ask."

"Let's hope he doesn't."

"But just in case…" he said with a touch of sarcasm. "I've prepared my explanation."

I laughed. "Let's hear it."

He sat up straighter and cleared his throat. When he spoke, it was in a voice full of faked choked emotion. "Coach, I didn't mean for it to happen. Neither of us did. And I'm sure you never saw it coming, because neither did I. Neither did she. But DJ and I…" He took a dramatic pause and pretended to sniffle. "Well, there's just no fighting it. Yes, Coach, it's true. I fell for my trainer. What can I say? What can any of us say, really, in the face of love?"

I had to press my face into my pillow to suppress the sounds of my laughter. When I could finally control myself somewhat, I raised my head and said, "If you say all of that, he'll just call you a pansy and tell you to take a few laps."

He pretended to be offended. "You're just full of all kinds of hurtful things to say, aren't you? Do you have some quota you're trying to fill? Is there, like, an online challenge or something? This hardly seems fair."

"Just giving you my honest opinion." I kissed him quickly.

"Hmm…" He sat up and moved the covers to expose the lower half of my legs. "How are your knees? They don't look so swollen."

"They feel okay. I just have a little limp. I think you were right about the jarring. They'll be good as new in a couple of days."

"Well, of course I was _right_," he said as he spread the covers back over me. "Have you met me?"

"Unfortunately."

"All teasing aside," he said as he gently wiped some of my slightly damp hair away from my face. "If they don't feel completely better in a couple of days, you really need to go to a doctor."

"I hate doctors," I informed him.

"I don't care," he smiled. "I care about you being safe and unhurt."

"Fine," I sighed. "If, in two days, I don't feel completely better, I'll go and see a doctor. Happy?"

"Ecstatic, actually," he said and brought my face to his for a kiss.

And after that, there was no more talk about knees, hurt or healthy.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_I was lost in the land of dreams._

_Brian and I were in the heifer meadow, lying on the lush, green grass, the sun beating down on our faces. The air was warm and pleasant, and birds were chirping happy songs all around. Brian's hand was linked with mine and we were smiling at each other, stupid, silly grins that neither of us could control._

"_I'm happy here with you," he informed me in the most matter-of-fact voice._

"_I'm happy, too," I replied easily. "Let's just stay here forever."_

_His eyebrows furrowed together. "I don't think we can."_

"_Why not?" I asked, puzzled._

"_Because it's time to get up. Time to get up. Time to get up…"_

"Time to get up, DJ! DJ, it's time to get up!"

I groaned and opened my eyes halfway to see Bill grinning down at me.

When he saw me looking, he grabbed the mattress and began to shake it. "It's time to get up, DJ! Time to get up! Come on!"

"Stop!" I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.

"Oh, come on!" He yanked them back down. "I was up late, too! Everyone was, actually. And they're all up. We've all already had breakfast. Mom told me to come and check on you, since you usually don't sleep this late. It's past noon."

"_Noon_?" I asked, surprised, as I shot up in bed and looked at my clock. Sure enough, it was two minutes past noon. "Wow. How did that happen?"

Easy enough: I'd stayed up late talking to and kissing Brian.

He shrugged. "I don't know. But come join the world of the living." He was at the door when he turned back around and said, "DJ?"

"Yeah?"

He grinned. "What were you dreaming about? You were smiling in your sleep."

I blushed. "I don't remember."

"Liar." But he was still grinning. "See you in a few." And then he left and shut the door behind him.

I quickly changed into shorts, a new T-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes before I pulled my hair into a ponytail and made my way downstairs.

"Are you feeling okay?" Mom asked me as soon as I made an appearance. "You slept for a really long time."

"I'm fine," I said easily. Even my knees felt a lot better. There was hardly any pain at all; I was mostly just sore now. "I'm not sure why I slept so long."

"How're the knees?" Bill asked me with a wink.

"Much better, thank you," I glared at him and then looked back at Mom. "Any leftovers from breakfast?"

"No," she said sympathetically.

"Sorry, DJ," Aaron said from the couch. "I was super hungry."

"No problem," I waved it away. "I'll just make myself some toast or something."

"Are you sure?" Mom asked. "I can whip up some more eggs…"

"It's fine," I insisted.

"Okay," she said. "But don't eat too much. Here in a couple of hours, we're going to the diner to eat dinner."

"Okay."

Dinner ended up coming sooner rather than later. We all sat at the biggest table and once we had our food, conversation was rolling. We talked about Win and Aaron and Bill's careers and Win got on me some more about how I needed to have a good, solid plan for my life. We talked about Mom's job and we talked about the farm. We talked about the cows and we even talked about football (surprise, surprise).

It was during the football conversation that Win said, "And there's the enemy right now."

Brian Nelson had just walked into the diner with a couple of his football friends. They were shown to a booth and it was obvious that the waitress was flirting with Brian. He ignored her, though, and she left dejected.

As if sensing my eyes on him, he looked up at me.

Bill snorted. "He better just keep his eyes to himself."

I gave Brian a small smile.

He got Bill's message and looked away.

"What did you say our chances were again, DJ?" Win asked me.

"Very good," Dad answered for me. "Brian may have a pretty good arm, but his aim is terrible. We'll have no problem intercepting his passes and winning the game."

_His arm isn't just pretty, Dad. It's beautiful. And his aim isn't terrible. It used to be, but I fixed it. It's great now. In fact, I'm not sure that Red Bend is going to win the scrimmage. I'm fairly certain that Hawley will._

But I said nothing and just continued to drench my fries in ketchup.

"I hate that kid," Bill snarled, and I thought it was a wonder that he hadn't announced it to everyone in the diner. "I hate every rich kid that thinks he's entitled to everything."

_He doesn't think that he's entitled to everything. He's a really sweet guy. I think you'd like him if you got to know him. He's amazing._

"Are you okay, honey?" Mom asked me.

"Yeah," I lied and stuffed some fries into my mouth.

She didn't look too convinced, but she went back to conversing with Aaron about his degree plan.

With my family preoccupied, I chanced a look at Brian.

He was looking at me, too, flashing me that million dollar smile that I loved so much.

I gave him a smile, too, before I turned my attention back to my food.

My family couldn't leave fast enough, and I was happy when we all finally got back into the van and headed for home. I'd been terrified that somehow someone would sense the electricity between Brian and me. And that was the last thing that I wanted.

"Don't look so happy," Win said softly once we were home. "We're still not letting you out to see your secret boyfriend."

_Maybe not, but he'll probably come to me._

I rolled my eyes. "You all need to grow up." And then I headed upstairs and got ready for bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**So… I have this new DQ idea that I've been tossing around in my head for a while and I actually like it a LOT better than this, but… it would probably be OOC for DJ and Brian, so… I don't know if I'll do it, even though I've already written 20 chapters of it on a whim. Thoughts?**

**Chapter Fifteen**

The day of the scrimmage came much too quickly. In fact, I didn't even realize at first that it had arrived.

I got up, milked the cows, and came in for breakfast to find my family chattering excitedly at the table.

"What's everyone so excited about?" I wondered aloud as I took my seat.

I was met with stunned silence.

"DJ…." Bill said slowly. "Are you… are you sick?"

Confused, I looked at Win. "What?"

Win rolled his eyes at me. "DJ, come on. Today's the day. The scrimmage."

_The scrimmage…_

"Oh," I said, feeling stupid. "Right. Of course." I ladled some gravy onto a biscuit. "Exciting."

"Beyond exciting," Bill said, mouth full of food. "We'll get to see that Nelson kid _humiliated_ in front of everyone. I'm pretty sure the whole town's going to be turning out for this."

Brian had been worried about being humiliated, too, even though I'd reassured him over and over that his game was so much better than it had used to be. He'd taken to practicing a lot more than he really needed to and he hadn't come over the night before because he had needed to rest up for the scrimmage. I didn't even think that Jimmy was making them practice beforehand. He wanted them all to be fresh and ready to go.

Win and Bill explained Red Bend's strong points to Aaron while I listened quietly, eating my food thoughtfully. I wondered what Brian was eating for breakfast and if his parents had made it back for the scrimmage. Probably not. They were pretty busy.

"We have to get there early," Bill reminded everyone as we were cleaning up after breakfast.

"Why?" I asked.

He flicked some water at me. "So that we can get some good seats, duh! I want a front row seat to Brian Nelson's destruction."

I _hated_ when he talked about Brian like that. I wished that he could understand that yes, Brian had been a jerk back when he had played against Bill. But, Brian had matured so much over the years, and he was much better than Bill was giving him credit for. But I just couldn't bring myself to try to explain…

The day crawled by, and Curtis and I busied ourselves with doing work on the farm. I worked harder than I was sure I had ever worked before because I so desperately wanted to get my mind off of the scrimmage. I felt horrible for wanting Brian to succeed, because that meant that Red Bend – my school – would lose. But shouldn't I want my boyfriend to his very best? Wasn't that my job as a good girlfriend? It was all so confusing.

Curtis noticed my behavior and tried to ask me about it, but I brushed it off as sleepiness. He didn't buy it, but at least he didn't try to push me for any more. If anyone could understand not wanting to talk about it, it was Curtis.

Close to time to leave for the scrimmage, I took a shower. After I had dried off, I pulled on shorts and a Red Bend T-shirt, and had just finished pulling my wet hair up into a ponytail when my cell phone rang.

_Brian_.

I smiled as I answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, DJ," he said, and he sounded relieved.

"Are you okay?" I asked him as I sank down on the edge of my bed.

"I'm…" he let out a breath. "Actually, I don't know how I am. I mean…. This scrimmage is a huge deal. It's the opener for the whole season, and I don't want to be the one that screws all of this up, you know? I want to be perfect. But I'm so worried that I'll get out there on that field and forget everything that you taught me and I'll just…"

"Hey," I said soothingly. "You're going to be just fine, okay? It's just a scrimmage. And I know it's a huge deal, but it's way better to make a mistake now than it would be to make one in an actual game. If you make mistakes today, then learn from them. But honestly? You're not going to have a problem. You're an amazing player and I think you know that. You _should_ know that, anyway. I definitely know it."

"Of course you'd say that," he laughed. "You're the one that trained me."

"Don't put that to shame," I told him sternly, though I was smiling.

He laughed. "Yes ma'am."

"You gonna be okay?"

"Will you be there?"

"Of course," I told him. "I'll be cheering for you the whole time."

"Just internally, though, right?" he teased. "Wouldn't want anybody getting suspicious. And nothing is more suspicious than a Red Bend fan cheering for the Hawley quarterback."

"I can give all my praise _after_ the scrimmage, if you want," I said and blushed, thankful that he couldn't see me.

"I'd like that _very_ much," he said. "Hey, I have to go in and warm up. Thanks for… talking."

"I'll see you later. Good luck. You'll do great."

"Thanks. Later, DJ."

"Bye."

I ended the call and had just tossed the phone on my nightstand when Bill burst into the room, grinning. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Tell you what?" I asked, confused.

"That you're dating a Red Bend football player?"

"Umm…?"

He sighed. "Okay, okay, I shouldn't have been listening to your conversation. But you could have just told us that you were dating a football player."

"Umm… I don't think you quite understand…"

He waved my comment away. "Whatever. I just heard you reassuring him about the scrimmage." His expression turned stern. "But we want to meet him after the game, okay?" And then he was gone.

_Oh, boy._


End file.
